Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering

Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Cambridge , MA 02139

The city of Venice has always suffered from floods resulting from high tides driven by meteorological and astronomical forcing. Over the last 100 years, the frequency and magnitude of the floods have increased dramatically as the result of subsidence and sea level rise. The solution to this problem involves a series of tidal gates that will actively separate the Adriatic from the Venice lagoon during times of floods, as well as passive protection of the lowest points in the lagoon. This talk explores the problem, the cause of the flooding, and presents the system-wide solution presently under construction.